I went to the store the other day to purhase some groceries. When I got to the herb section the prices blew me away!
I have always grown something every year, last year it was chives. This year I am growing a lot more herbs but still in a confined space.
In 2 long containers with soil I added the seeds and watered them and put them in partial shade.
The Herbs that I chose this year:
Chives
Garlic Chives
Dill
Parsley
Italian Flat Leaf Parsley
Spinach
I know Spinach is not a herb, but I put spinach in nearly everything because I like to think it makes my cooking more healthier.
This all didnt cost much at all and does not take up hardly any room at all. This could be done in an apartment, in the kitchen window sill, etc...
I had to buy the containers, soil, and seeds. The seeds were only $1 per package. You might already have a container you want to use too!
By planting this little herb garden you are helping the Earth in many ways. The plants will take in CO2 and release O2. When you buy herbs in the supermarket, they come in plastic packaging that ends up in the landfill. Also how did the herbs get to the store, by truck, you are saving the fuel from trucking in the herbs.
So we save
-Plastic Packaging from the trash
-Removes CO2 from the Air
-Saving on Fuel and CO2 emissions from the Truck.
And Trust me, every dish you make with your own home grown herbs just taste better!
Friday, April 9, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Don't Throw out your old Clothes!
It takes a lot of natural resources to make that sweater, dont just throw it away!
Uses for old clothes:
-Some clothes make good rags, just cut them to the desired size.
-Old pants can become shorts, just cut to the correct length.
-You can use the fabric for crafts, such as purses, rice warmers, quilts.
-You always need a few old sets of clothes to wear while you work in the garden or while painting.
-You can make paper out of some clothing like denim and cotton.
If you don't want to re-use your old clothing you can still donate them to people in need. You can usually drop them off at local churches or a goodwill store.
There is hidden value in your old clothing, I am talking cash here!
Every 6 months I go through my closet and take out everything that doesnt fit or I dont want. I separate them into 2 piles. Good and Rags. The items that go into the rags pile are of course turned into rags, I also cut any buttons off them and store in a jar, when a jar gets full I can usually sell it on ebay for about $10-$15 bucks! The good pile goes to a local church resale store, they take my old clothes, price them, and sell them. Half of the money comes to me, Half to the church, after 3 months any clothes that did not sell are donated to the church. Sometimes I make an extra $100-$120
So there, dont just throw out those clothes, they can be used again!
Uses for old clothes:
-Some clothes make good rags, just cut them to the desired size.
-Old pants can become shorts, just cut to the correct length.
-You can use the fabric for crafts, such as purses, rice warmers, quilts.
-You always need a few old sets of clothes to wear while you work in the garden or while painting.
-You can make paper out of some clothing like denim and cotton.
If you don't want to re-use your old clothing you can still donate them to people in need. You can usually drop them off at local churches or a goodwill store.
There is hidden value in your old clothing, I am talking cash here!
Every 6 months I go through my closet and take out everything that doesnt fit or I dont want. I separate them into 2 piles. Good and Rags. The items that go into the rags pile are of course turned into rags, I also cut any buttons off them and store in a jar, when a jar gets full I can usually sell it on ebay for about $10-$15 bucks! The good pile goes to a local church resale store, they take my old clothes, price them, and sell them. Half of the money comes to me, Half to the church, after 3 months any clothes that did not sell are donated to the church. Sometimes I make an extra $100-$120
So there, dont just throw out those clothes, they can be used again!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Handmade Paper
I am so proud of myself. I have always been very interested in handmade paper and have failed many times to make it myself. I finally broke down and bought a kit to help this novice.
I bought the Arnold Grummer Paper Making Kit. (both sizes)
I have only used the 5x7 kit but you don't know how satisfied I was when I took one piece of junk mail, some onion skins, dryer lint, and a small sliver of cardboard and turned it into 5 sheets of 5x7 paper. Each one is unique.
I was once told that it cost more money to recycle paper then to actually start from scratch. I have to disagree. I put all of the items in a blender and pulsed for about 30 seconds. I then let the mixture set for about an hour to make sure that the pulp was completely saturated. I then used the kit to make the 5 pieces of paper.
Maybe it is more expensive if you include the drying process. Since I am using the dry-over-night-under-heavy-books method, this is not my problem. The good thing is that I will always keep my junk mail for making paper now. It will be great for writing "Thank You" messages on. I will post pictures as soon as the paper dries.
I m now saving paper from making its way to the landfill. Go me!
I bought the Arnold Grummer Paper Making Kit. (both sizes)
I have only used the 5x7 kit but you don't know how satisfied I was when I took one piece of junk mail, some onion skins, dryer lint, and a small sliver of cardboard and turned it into 5 sheets of 5x7 paper. Each one is unique.
I was once told that it cost more money to recycle paper then to actually start from scratch. I have to disagree. I put all of the items in a blender and pulsed for about 30 seconds. I then let the mixture set for about an hour to make sure that the pulp was completely saturated. I then used the kit to make the 5 pieces of paper.
Maybe it is more expensive if you include the drying process. Since I am using the dry-over-night-under-heavy-books method, this is not my problem. The good thing is that I will always keep my junk mail for making paper now. It will be great for writing "Thank You" messages on. I will post pictures as soon as the paper dries.
I m now saving paper from making its way to the landfill. Go me!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Do Laundry ... Save Energy and Money
Did you know there are a few little tricks you can do to save energy and money when doing the laundry?
Do you really need to wash the items in hot or warm water? Can it be washed in cold water? If so you are saving the energy it would normally require to heat the water!
Why do you use so much detergent? Make up this little concoction and your detergent bill will be cut in half!
1 part dishsoap (helps with grease and oil stains)
1 part baking soda (helps with smells, whitens, and softens)
1 part white vinegar (helps with smells, stubborn stains, and whitens)
I usually use 1 cup of each and store in a container, dont forget that when you mix baking soda and vineger there is a chemical reaction (remember the 1st grade volcanoes?)
When doing your laundry use only half of the detergent you would normally and add 2 tablespoons of your new detergent boosting concoction.
Wait until you have a full load to do laundry.
Dryer Tips:
Jeans, Blankets, and towels are great items to hang outside to dry! Just hang them outside until dry, hang off the back porch, on a clothsline, etc.... You can also hang clothes in your shower while you are at work, usually dry when you get home.
Have a wrinkled shirt or pants, instead of putting in the dryer, hang in the bathroom with you while you take a shower, the warm water vapors will help loosen the wrinkles and you can smooth them out with your hand!
Every month you need to check all of the vents for your dryer to make sure it is not clogged, this could be a fire hazard and make your dryer be less effecient.
Check your lint trap..... Depending on what you are drying, you may need to check it after every load you do. *Don't throw your lint away, it is a great ingredient when you are making homemade paper.
10 minutes before the dryer automatically turns off, check your clothes, are they already dry? They may be tumbling for no reason.
Do you really need to wash the items in hot or warm water? Can it be washed in cold water? If so you are saving the energy it would normally require to heat the water!
Why do you use so much detergent? Make up this little concoction and your detergent bill will be cut in half!
1 part dishsoap (helps with grease and oil stains)
1 part baking soda (helps with smells, whitens, and softens)
1 part white vinegar (helps with smells, stubborn stains, and whitens)
I usually use 1 cup of each and store in a container, dont forget that when you mix baking soda and vineger there is a chemical reaction (remember the 1st grade volcanoes?)
When doing your laundry use only half of the detergent you would normally and add 2 tablespoons of your new detergent boosting concoction.
Wait until you have a full load to do laundry.
Dryer Tips:
Jeans, Blankets, and towels are great items to hang outside to dry! Just hang them outside until dry, hang off the back porch, on a clothsline, etc.... You can also hang clothes in your shower while you are at work, usually dry when you get home.
Have a wrinkled shirt or pants, instead of putting in the dryer, hang in the bathroom with you while you take a shower, the warm water vapors will help loosen the wrinkles and you can smooth them out with your hand!
Every month you need to check all of the vents for your dryer to make sure it is not clogged, this could be a fire hazard and make your dryer be less effecient.
Check your lint trap..... Depending on what you are drying, you may need to check it after every load you do. *Don't throw your lint away, it is a great ingredient when you are making homemade paper.
10 minutes before the dryer automatically turns off, check your clothes, are they already dry? They may be tumbling for no reason.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Can you Spare 2 minutes?
Can you spare 2 minutes to help save the earth and save you some money?
Please get out of your seat right now and walk your office/home and turn off unused lights, TVs, unplug computer monitors...etc....
Please post what you were able to turn off and lets see how much energy we can save by just turning off stuff we are not currently using.
I will start.....
-2 minutes later-
I was able to
-unplug cellphone charger from wall
-turn off desktop monitor and CPU
-unplug the hallway nightlight
-turn off the light in the bathroom
Please paste a link on your facebook, twitter, bebo, myspace, hi5, etc...to see how much of a difference the collective community can make. I will be updating this post to see how much electricity we are really saving!
PLEASE COMMENT below so we can see how much energy we are saving!
Please get out of your seat right now and walk your office/home and turn off unused lights, TVs, unplug computer monitors...etc....
Please post what you were able to turn off and lets see how much energy we can save by just turning off stuff we are not currently using.
I will start.....
-2 minutes later-
I was able to
-unplug cellphone charger from wall
-turn off desktop monitor and CPU
-unplug the hallway nightlight
-turn off the light in the bathroom
Please paste a link on your facebook, twitter, bebo, myspace, hi5, etc...to see how much of a difference the collective community can make. I will be updating this post to see how much electricity we are really saving!
PLEASE COMMENT below so we can see how much energy we are saving!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Free Shopping Bags
We all know that those plastic bags at the grocery store are bad for the environment. At my house we reuse the bags for trash bags or to carry items to parties etc.. but I know we can do better.
From now on I will promise to only use reusable canvas shopping bags, if I forget to bring my canvas bag I will ask for paper bags. (we use these for crafts and I use them for shipping things that I sell online)
If you are buying something small that will easily fit in your purse or pocket, skip the bag, BUT KEEP YOUR RECEIPT!!!
Tip... Buy multiple canvas bags, keep 2 in the car and 2 in the home. That way you always have access to the bags.
Do you want a Free Canvas bag? Just pay shipping from www.FreeShoppingBags.com
From now on I will promise to only use reusable canvas shopping bags, if I forget to bring my canvas bag I will ask for paper bags. (we use these for crafts and I use them for shipping things that I sell online)
If you are buying something small that will easily fit in your purse or pocket, skip the bag, BUT KEEP YOUR RECEIPT!!!
Tip... Buy multiple canvas bags, keep 2 in the car and 2 in the home. That way you always have access to the bags.
Do you want a Free Canvas bag? Just pay shipping from www.FreeShoppingBags.com
Monday, August 31, 2009
Recycling Ideas
I am wanting to build a recycling center that can be dropped off at locations. They will hold up to 4 different items that I can take to the local recycling center. It would colorful and hopefully promote recycling in my community. If you have any ideas send it to me so I can build it and post pictures. I would like to keep track of how much each mobile unit recycles in a year!
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